HC Deb 05 February 1997 vol 289 cc649-50W
Mr. Donohoe

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the new contracts of employment the Driving Standards Agency is introducing for driving examiners; and what involvement Ministers have had in the decision to introduce the new contracts of employment. [14155]

Mr. Bowis

The Driving Standards Agency is introducing new conditions of service in the contract of permanent employment for the 40 driving examiners whom the agency proposes to recruit to fill current vacancies. The revised conditions will provide the agency with more flexibility concerning the location of examiners and their working hours to help meet fluctuations in patterns of demand for driving tests. There are currently no plans to apply these new conditions to existing permanent staff. While I approve overall DSA staffing levels in the context of the agency's business plan, it is for the chief executive to set appropriate conditions of employment.

Mr. Donohoe

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many driving examiners are employed by the Driving Standards Agency; how many have been asked to accept new contracts of employment; how many have been restricted to contracts offering them one day's work a month; and how many driving examiners have been dismissed for refusing to accept new contracts of employment. [14156]

Mr. Bowis

The Driving Standards Agency currently employs 1,153 driving examiners grade staff, 831 of whom are permanent civil servants and 322 of whom have three-year contracts. The DSA is recruiting 40 new permanent driving examiners with revised conditions of service. Examiners on fixed-period contracts have been given six months notice of a contract variation to allow the DSA to terminate on one month's notice in the future. All 322 staff on fixed-period contracts are guaranteed at least one day's work a month once they have completed their probationary period; 307 of these staff are guaranteed of a minimum of 120 days per year for the duration of their contracts. No examiners have been dismissed.